An Invite to Dinner

An Invite to Dinner

This is a story of an immigrant family.  An immigrant family whose ancestors had lived in the United States for many generations, but chose to start a new life elsewhere in this country.  These immigrants, Edmund and Mary Ann, loaded up their small family and headed west in a wagon on their way to a better life in Oregon.  However, in Wyoming, their best ox died and they knew they could not get to Oregon before winter set in. So they traveled south to winter over in Utah.  They were worried about their safety–stories of savage natives and also the Mormons living there haunted their thoughts.  Thus, when they arrived near a settlement, they camped across the river–close enough to the Mormon settlement to be safe from the natives, but far enough away to be safe from the Mormons.  And then there was the evening when an invitation to dinner was extended.  Edmund and Mary Ann were worried about accepting, but they were more afraid of declining.  So, with a bit of bravery, they accepted the invitation and, surprisingly, enjoyed a flour “mush” dinner with their new neighbors.  A small and simple offering, but for weary travelers, afraid and alone, it was a wonderful bit of kindness.  And that kindness led to a happy winter, not a scared winter, where they learned to know their neighbors and became, not alone, but included.

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